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This is coming in a little late, but I had to jump on to wish you all a very merry Vegan Pizza Day! I still remember my first vegan pizza. It was from zpizza, a dairy-free “Tuscan,” topped with daiya mozzerella, lots of mushrooms, roasted garlic, caramelized onions, truffle oil, and thyme. I almost ate the whole thing before I even got home, it was so delectable. Better yet, it convinced me I could do this whole vegan thing, after all!

So on this holiest of vegan holy days, I decided to treat myself to one of daiya’s latest creations – PIZZA! There are actually a lot of restaurants in LA that partake in Vegan Pizza Day, but I’m on a budget and I already had this beauty in my freezer.

Daiya Mushroom and Roasted Garlic Pizza

One thing I didn’t realize until I was heating up my oven, is that this bad boy is gluten-free! That’s pretty cool, and it makes a lot of sense since a big chunk of daiya’s business is thanks to gluten- and dairy-adverse celiacs. It also explains the price tag. $10 for a frozen pizza is not a good deal unless you really need to eat gluten-free. I, thankfully, do not.

The instructions called to preheat the oven to a whooping 500*, almost more than I could stand in the middle of a heatwave, but I cranked up the oven and preheated my fancy new Emile Henry pizza stone. After cooking the pizza for a few minutes, I realized the oven had heated up to 550*! I didn’t even know my oven could get that hot. Part of the crust began to burn and I had to crank it down a lot in order to balance out the temperature. Eek! The high heat needed to melt the cheese and the delicate gluten-free crust do not mesh well.

I managed to salvage it and was left with a pretty delicious pizza. Not one I would serve to guests or even my picky husband, but still, pretty good. The crust was buttery, thin, and crispy – very impressive for being gluten-free. There was lots of cheese but just a sprinkling of diced mushrooms, unfortunately. Also, I’ve come to the conclusion that I prefer daiya melted on sandwiches or tossed in cheesy pasta dishes, rather than on pizza. It’s just a little too gooey and creamy for my pizza needs. Still delicious, just not perfect!

All and all, I don’t think I’ll be buying another daiya pizza. I don’t need to eat gluten-free and $10 is too much money for frozen food.

I hope the rest of you had an excellent Vegan Pizza Day! How did you celebrate? Take-out, frozen, or homemade?

My comfortable life stopped feeling comfortable when I realized how much the earth is suffering for my convenience. I dedicated a year to learning about sustainability, environmentalism, veganism, and kindness. Now I'm putting it into practice.